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The
Play's the Thing Whatcha doin' in town, folks? Get outta here! Drive south!
Most of us in the Eugene/Springfield area don't vacation in Ashland. A mere three-hour drive from us, Ashland and its Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) attract far more people from the San Francisco Bay area and even Southern California than folks from the Willamette Valley. But hey, we can change that. This season, the OSF's outdoor Elizabethan Stage and indoor Angus Bowmer and New Theatres contain despair, joy, jealousy, delight, love, humor and a powerful dose of schadenfreude. And the OSF is only one of the attractions of the area. Combine it with delightful cuisine, beautiful Lithia Park, the artisans' market, Victorian B&Bs; the attractions of camping on nearby Mount Ashland, hiking nearby Table Rocks or rafting the Rogue; and the heavenly cheeses of Central Point's Rogue Valley Creamery, and we mid-Valley-ites should flock there in droves, especially as the summer wanes and the plays grow less crowded. You can order tickets online at www.osfashland.org or zip down on a whim any weekend between now and the end of October. Most plays sell out. If you don't have tickets, pick up last-minute returns or buy from the ubiquitous "I have two!" folks standing near the box office. And stay for a few plays; part of the joy of the festival comes from seeing actors twice or even three times on stage — and occasionally downtown. If you have time, go to the Green Shows before the outdoor performance and listen to a park talk, lecture or post-matinée discussion with actors freshly scrubbed of makeup. Let drama class begin ...
CRIB NOTES & EXTRA CREDIT OPTIONS We're telling you to go see Shakespeare? Mr. Intimidating? The one with the challenging language and the convoluted plots? The one who makes you remember sophomore year English and quake with fear? Forsooth, fair ones, bestir not thy livers, but hie thee to the Tudor Guild shop and there findeth two items to aid thy thoughts. The first is a booklet called Illuminations which provides explanations of the plays and their historical settings. The notes couldn't be better. For King John, for instance, the book includes a recap of the story, a Who's Who (what, you don't remember Geoffrey of Anjou?) and a time line replete with information about everything from Cambodia in 1200 to troubadours. The second book comes out part way through the season, when all of the plays have begun (seven plays run most of the season; two plays start early and fall off the schedule; two come on in late July, making 11 plays in all). This is the photo-heavy Souvenir Program, and besides its beauty, it contains info about the Green Show, a tribute to playwright August Wilson and an incredibly useful grid of each actor and his or her parts in the plays. You will constantly refer to the grid to sort out where you've seen an actor before. The Tudor Guild is also useful for decoration: Many visitors buy Venetian masks, capes or hats to wear to the shows. One of the most rewarding — not to mention least expensive — events on the festival's list is the 10 am Backstage Tour, which takes place every day but Monday. The tour reveals a glimpse of the huge effort it takes to create stage magic. Do whatever you must to go. Actors or actor-teachers leading the tour will hit highlights of stagecraft: lights, clever costume adaptations and sound cues. You'll see the dressing rooms, the green room and possibly the wig room, and you'll learn a very fun piece of information about the noses of Cyrano de Bergerac. A final piece of advice: If you go to the Elizabethan Stage, take something to sit on and something that will keep you warm or be prepared to rent pillows and blankets there. As for the plays, which to see? We provide capsule reviews of six. Of the other three, fans of Oscar Wilde will probably want to check out the production of The Importance of Being Earnest while those more into the history of horror should look at Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Intimate Apparel brings together history and irony in a tale of the world of working-class women in New York at the turn of the 20th century.
REPORT CARD: DRAMA The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Elizabethan Stage, through Oct. 8)
Mistaken identities, the country bumpkin headed for court, the loyal retainer and his trick-doing dog … plus intense betrayal, potential rape, the offering of a woman as a gift by the hero? Well, Two Gentlemen isn't precisely the most often-performed Shakespeare (that's apparently Richard III, according to 2005's OSF literature). Still, it's interesting, and the designers and director Bill Rauch (just hired as OSF's new artistic director) strongly stamp the play with specific styles, making one major misstep but generally providing fascinating context. Young Valentine (Juan Rivera LeBron) leaves his town, Verona, for the city — in this case, Milan — while his dear friend Proteus (Gregory Linington) stays behind to woo Julia (Miriam A. Laube). City/country contrasts resound in this production, with Verona represented as an Amish/Mennonite community and Milan beautifully resembling the world of the extraordinarily wealthy in Woody Allen's Match Point (the designers took inspiration from a Brooks Brothers catalog). The characters used to duty and responsibility succumb, at least for a while, to the pleasures of late capitalist excess. Only the silly 1980s goth/punk look of outlaws, later in the show, mars the stylish design. In Milan, Valentine falls hard for Silvia (Sarah Rutan), the daughter of the Duke (William Langan). Proteus comes to town, promising to stay true to Julia, promising her he'll watch over Valentine — broken promises both. Betrayals, insinuations, banishments, despair and convoluted plots end with a typical Shakespearean last-act meeting/reconciliation in the forest. In this comedy, visual pleasures mix with generally strong acting and some hilarious scenes. Shakespeare wrote the climactic reconciliation of Proteus and Valentine in a way that makes modern audiences uncomfortable, but the production deals with them well. David Kelly, playing Proteus' chaperon Launce, steals the show with his dog Crab (Terwilliger). Intermission is no time to make a run for coffee or wine; instead, stay for the canine tricks. Two Gentlemen is a gorgeous, easy-to-understand comedy that should please kids and adults alike. Grade: B
The Merry Wives of Windsor (Elizabethan Stage, through Oct. 6)
Shakespeare can truly be a romp, and not just in well-known plays like A Midsummer Night's Dream. For those who know Sir John Falstaff mostly from the history plays (Henry IV, Parts 1& 2 and Henry V), Merry Wives is a welcome slice-of-life glimpse of brave Sir Jack's capers without Prince Hal. Rumor has it Queen Bess herself told Shakespeare she wanted to see Falstaff in love. Politicians don't really get to dictate art, so that's not precisely what occurs, but the play definitely has fun with Falstaff (G. Valmont Thomas). There's a minor plot concerning young Anne Page (Tiffany Adams) and her three main woo-ers, Abraham Slender (Shad Willingham), Doctor Caius (Armando Durán) and Fenton (Yorke G. Fryer). The main story revolves around Falstaff's attempts to bed Mistress Margaret Page (Shona Tucker) and Mistress Alice Ford (Tyler Layton). But Mistresses Page and Ford are best friends; they have something slightly different in mind for the large, randy man. Expert designer Dick Hays created wildly colorful sets for this intensely physical play. The production is so oddly costumed by Susan E. Mickey, using a retro-vaudeville/1950s cocktail dress/Victorian gallimaufry, that some in the audience will find themselves as distracted as others are entranced. Basically, this is a production for those who love Dumb and Dumber, for youngsters who read a lot of Captain Underpants and their older counterparts. The actors are solidly professional, even hilarious at times in this slapstick comedy, but some of the choices made by director Andrew Tsao slip from humorous into merely silly. In the Hunt at the end, which should be an edgily dark chaos from which order is gradually revealed, buffoonery and music spoil what should be the most intense moment of the play. Grade: B-
Cyrano de Bergerac (Elizabethan Stage, through Oct. 7)
Cyrano is this season's standout play, the one with the most massive cast, costume requirements and special effects. This 1897 play by Edmond Rostand relies almost completely on the abilities of the man playing Cyrano, whose relentless torrent of words makes every scene an intellectual and emotional whirlwind. Many people know the basics from Steve Martin's movie Roxanne (which has a slightly ... different ... ending): Cyrano, a brilliant writer, is cursed with a huge, misshapen nose. He has fallen in love with his cousin Roxane, but he can't bring himself to tell her. A young nobleman, Christian, comes to Paris to seek his fortune; he also falls for Roxane and begs Cyrano to help him woo her with words. This office Cyrano performs, and Roxane falls for the words, not the man (though Christian is also quite beautiful). Tragedies ensue. In this production, Marco Barricelli as Cyrano fulfills the demands with brilliance. The scene in which he must distract the Count de Guiche (Derrick Lee Weeden) during the wedding of Roxane (Robin Goodrin Nordli) and Christian (Rex Young) is but one of the standout moments in a play studded with audience gasps, cheers and tears. Barricelli, star of many plays both in Ashland and in San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, inhabits the role so thoroughly it's a crime he's ever offstage. Director Laird Williamson must have been pleased but worried about contrasts with other actors. Nordli seems a bit too mature and intelligent to fall for the callow Christian, and neither Weeden nor David Kelly as Cyrano's close friend Le Bret measure up to Barricelli's performance. The final scene, drenched in all of the 19th-century sentimentality Rostand could muster, grates on post-modern sensibilities. Those detract a bit, but the wit, beauty and power of Barricelli's Cyrano remain. This one's a stunner. Grade: A
The Winter's Tale(Angus Bowmer Theatre, through Oct. 29)
A strong script, brilliant performances and the power of human passion make this the dark horse play of the season. Libby Appel, current artistic director of OSF who's retiring at the end of the 2007 season, directs this production with a sure touch. As Shakespeare began The Winter's Tale, he was wrapping up his playwriting career; this is a "late" play. Like The Tempest, it's known as a romance — not a comedy, not a drama, but a play that contains elements of both and invokes the power of Greek or Roman gods. The play begins with King Leontes of Sicilia (William Langan, in a role he plays with grace and brilliance) trying to persuade his best friend, King Polixenes (Rex Young) of Bohemia, to stay a little longer. Leontes asks his wife Hermione (Miriam A. Laube) to intercede; she is able to convince Polixenes to stay. As she dances with Polixenes, Leontes begins to suspect that his devoted Hermione and his dearest friend are too close, that the baby Hermione carries is a bastard, and that she has tried to turn their son against him. His jealous rage, flying in the face of the god Apollo's word from the Oracle at Delphi, dooms Leontes to 16 years of torment. His newborn daughter Perdita ends up in Bohemia, after being saved from Shakespeare's most hilarious-yet-deadly stage direction by Antigonus (Mark Murphey). Perdita (Nell Geisslinger) grows up the adopted child of an old shepherd (Geoffrey Blaisdell) and falls for the prince of Bohemia, Florizel (Juan Rivera LeBron). The Bohemia portion of the play grows interesting when Polixenes reacts to this match with as much rage and as little sense as did his former friend Leontes to him 16 years before. Instead of ending in a forest, this romance moves from forest to the court of Leontes, where Hermione's friend Paulina (Greta Oglesby) helps turn agonies of recrimination to wiser, more mature relief. Laube as Hermione, in her grief and bewilderment, is magical in this production; Langan couldn't be stronger; Jeffrey King as a royal retainer provides fine moments of insight; and Oglesby's Paulina deepens the twist of Leontes' remorse and masterfully clarifies the symbolic meanings of the play for the audience. If you see but one Shakespeare play this season, don't miss The Winter's Tale. Grade: A-
King John (New Theatre, through Oct. 29)
You may think you know King John, the man, from Robin Hood, but this play provides a view that's a bit more complex. King John isn't quite as clear about themes nor as ruthless about cutting out the clutter of historical characters as later plays like Henry V or Richard III. The actors, under director John Sipes and scenic designer William Bloodgood, force clarity into a convoluted plot. The spare set, with its technical wizardry, provides a suitably stark backdrop to John's empty flourishes of uneasy power, and the World War I-era costumes by Shigeru Yaji emphasize that power nicely. Other World War I references don't quite gel, including the projection of images. As for the plot: King John (Michael Elich) and his manipulative mother Eleanor of Aquitaine (Jeanne Paulsen) clash with Philip, the King of France (Richard Elmore), and Constance (Robynn Rodriguez), mother of Arthur (Emma Harding), John's young nephew and the legitimate heir to the throne of England. Recounting more plot would lead inevitably to mental tangles; best to see this strong, dense play and, as you will inevitably be tempted to do, hear the actors' post-play discussions, buy a copy of the play and learn more about the time period. The director underemphasizes the role of Philip the Bastard (René Millán), which is a shame, and one wonders if it's strictly necessary for the OSF always to portray grief-stricken women barefoot, sporting disheveled hair and wearing nightgowns. But these are quibbles. Elich, Paulsen and Rodriguez bring their generous talents to bear on this rarely performed play and turn it into a political tour de force. Grade: A-
Bus Stop (New Theatre, through Oct. 29)
This 1955 William Inge play feels intensely dated, with a plot that seems to reward a sexually aggressive cowboy and sympathize with a child molester. Those who have fond memories of the Marilyn Monroe movie may enjoy the play more than those new to Inge. The play opens in a set that does not change (the New Theatre, cleverly designed in a variety of ways, doesn't have room for set changes during plays): the café run by Grace (Shona Tucker), where high school student Elma Duckworth (Nell Geisslinger) works after school. There's a cold wind a-blowin' outside in the Kansas night, and a blizzard closes the highway. A late bus from Kansas City stops at the café. In runs nightclub singer Cherie (Tyler Layton), who throws herself at the sheriff (Jeffrey King) and begs for his help in hiding from the cowboy (Danforth Comins) who kidnapped her. Over the course of the night, there's casual sex, alcoholism and some rather depressing discussion about what men and women "really" want. It's hard to watch this play in 2006, with the accumulated cultural knowledge of Lolita, feminism and Brokeback Mountain hovering. The actors, including Robert Sicular as Professor Lyman and Tyrone Wilson as bus driver Carl, do a fine job, given the limits of the script. And certainly, Layton deserves kudos for her depiction of a wistful Cherie, while Tucker often steals the stage as Grace. But the enduring performance here comes from OSF veteran Mark Murphey as lonely cowboy-sage Virgil Blessing. Grade: B-
NEXT UP: 2007 OSF SEASON ANGUS BOWMER THEATRE As You Like It by William Shakespeare, February-October On the Razzle by Tom Stoppard, February-October The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, February-July Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson, April-October Tartuffe by Molière, July-October
NEW THEATRE Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, February-June Tracy's Tiger, adapted from a novel by William Saroyan by Penny Metropulos, Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy and Sterling Tinsley, March-October Distracted by Lisa Loomer, July-October
ELIZABETHAN STAGE/ALLEN PAVILION The Tempest by William Shakespeare, June-October Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, June-October The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, June-October
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